Environment

ATLANTA -- Georgia's state climatologist says extreme drought conditions have now spread into North Georgia and cover most of the state south of the mountains.

Climatologist David Stooksbury says all of Georgia's counties are now classified as being in moderate, severe or extreme drought.

In his most recent reports on the drought, Stooksbury said the outlook for relief in the short-term is not promising. Unless Georgia sees some tropical weather over the next few months, the state can expect below-normal rainfall and above-normal temperatures.

Without tropical rain, Georgia's soil is expected to continue to dry out. Stream flows, groundwater levels and reservoir levels are expected to continue to drop, and wildfire potentials are expected to remain high to extreme.

Submitted by LA Thomas, PR Manager, City of Atlanta, Dept. of Planning & Comm. Development

Friday, August 26th, 2011, 9:18am

The City of Atlanta Department of Planning and Community Development and the Office of Parks has conducted the first comprehensive inventory of the city’s publicly-owned downtown trees. The inventory included an assessment of the trees along streets, boulevards, parks, and public spaces in the downtown area. The tree inventory will provide information about the species, size, quality, and condition of public trees in downtown Atlanta.

Information from the inventory will help establish management priorities by:

identifying trees that need to be pruned or removed,

revealing any systemic problems with pests or disease,

identifying the distribution of tree species with size, height, and other characteristics, and

ATLANTA -- It's been 30 years since so few acres of peanuts were planted in Georgia.

The shortage and ongoing drought are bringing higher prices for peanuts and their favorite cousin -- peanut butter.

The acreage is down because farmers chose to plant cotton, which was commanding higher prices. It was thought plenty of peanuts would still be available, but many of the plants have not come out of the ground due to drought.

The situation has peanut butter manufacturers bracing for tighter supplies, according to Don Koehler with the Georgia Peanut Commission.

Georgia is the nation's largest producer of peanuts, producing 46 percent of U.S. peanuts.

ATLANTA – On July 21, the Atlanta City Council’s City Utilities Committee will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. The committee will talk about the proposed 11-O-0740 ordinance which establishes a “fee structure for the usage of rainwater catchment systems in the City of Atlanta”.

Among other things, the ordinance talks about guidelines contractors should follow to ensure water safety. The ordnance can be viewed here.

ATLANTA -- According to The Advocate, the U.S. based national gay and lesbian newsmagazine, Atlanta holds the title of “America’s gayest city” and Gay Atlanta, a subsidiary of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau says that Atlanta is the “epicenter of the LGBT South” but according to Phillip Rafshoon of Outwrite Bookstore, Atlanta is just a “progressive city in a conservative state, that’s in a conservative region of the United States. The city serves as a place where people from small, southern towns can come to be who they want to be” which is why the LGBT community loves to call this city, home.

In the nook that is Tenth Street and Piedmont Road, Outwrite Bookstore has been a staple in the Atlanta LGBT community for about 18 years.

ATLANTA, Ga. -- For this week’s installment of Best Spots, we've compiled a list of the best lookout points in the metro-area to view the Atlanta skyline.

The prominent Atlanta Skyline is marked with midrise and high-rise buildings similar to those one would find in a larger city like New York City or Los Angeles. The Bank of America Plaza formally known as the NationsBank Building is one of the most prominent buildings in the Atlanta skyline and is the 42nd tallest building in the world, is the largest building in the Western Hemisphere outside of Chicago and New York and is Georgia’s tallest building.

Other buildings included in the Atlanta Skyline are the SunTrust Plaza, One Atlantic Center, 191 Peachtree Tower, the Georgia-Pacific Tower, Westin Peachtree Plaza, Two Peachtree Building and the Promenade II.

ATLANTA – There are tons of fun events going on this weekend, in your area. We’ve listed a few of them for you to check out with your family and friends.

Come out to the Taste of the Highlands, tickets sales end on May 13 at noon but the festival starts on Saturday, May 14 from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. in the Highlands. This year, participants can enjoy local favorites like La Travola, Murphy’s, El Taco, Atkins Parks, Rosebud, DBA Barbecue, Goin’ Costal and Barefoot Wine. For more information visit them online.

The Kirkwood Spring Fling and Tour of Homes/5K Road Race will begin on Saturday, May 14 and continue until May 15. This is Kirkwood’s ninth annual festival; the festival features an open air artist market, a concert, a children’s area, food vendors and plenty of fellowship with neighbors. Check out the Victorian style homes and modern bungalows.